Family
by SmallSerpent
Summary: Today wasn't a good day for Sirius to realize he was in love with a male blood-traitor... Yet he did. And what's got Ann so upset? Starting with the two getting disowned, and ending in gay smut.
1. No Place Like London

**Author's Note: Alright... So... To get a few things out of the way before we officially begin: **

**1. I do not own this and make no money off writing it. It was just a plot bunny that would not go away. **

**2. The views expressed in this work are not necessarily the views of the author. **

**3. Yes, I did skew their ages a bit (Ann and Sirius are not supposed to be so close, and so on...) but when I started to write this I wanted to include Ann in it (I can't think of why. She's not a character I'm usually overly fond of...) and some of the other characters just sort of turned out at ages that aren't really cannon. I can't tell you why. **

**4. This is not a song-fic. The lyrics to "No place like London" appear only in the first part, because I could not get them out of my head while writing it, and they fit decently, since Sirius' childhood home was in London. I'm also aware that I threw the "shit" line in there where it didn't really belong. Oh well. I wanted it there, so it went there. **

**5. Yeah, this fic is weird. I'm aware. It starts serious, then gets weird, then goes back to serious, then ends in smut. That's just how it worked out. **

**6. You might not like my version of Ann. In most fics, she is shown as being more Tonks-like, but I didn't really want to write her as such for the same reason that I refuse to write Albus, Rose, and Scorpius as mini-versions of their parents in my G2 fic. They are not their family members. Honestly, after living with Ted and Nymphadora for so many years, I can see her acting more like them, but at this point she's spent her entirely life living with the Blacks, so I figure she'll be more like them. **

**7. I'm a lesbian. A serious, I-don't-touch-anything-with-a-penis lesbian. This makes writing lemons with nothing but penises slightly difficult, but I do it anyway because it's a free Interwebz (except for the part where we have to pay for it...) and I hate most of the female characters in the Harry Potter series. So yeah... I try my hardest. Let me know what you think. **

**8. This entire fic was originally one chapter, but it just kept growing and growing, and I thought it was far less intimidating if I broke it up. As a result, some chapters will be quite short. The entire fic is getting uploaded at the same time, however, so it's not like you're missing out on anything or having to wait for updates. Please do not review telling me I should have made chapters longer, I will simply respond telling you to read the Authors Note. **

* * *

_There's a hole in the world like a great black pit;_

_And it's filled with people who are filled with shit;_

The boy flipped a lock of long black hair out of his eyes and tried not to sweat to death in his most expensive white silk robes. He'd rather he were lying anywhere but there, in his atop his own made bed amid his own scarlet covered walls, painted such just to annoy the very man and woman who'd payed for the paint. The boy imagined that the white robes he now wore served as pay-back for that very crime.

_And the vermin of the world inhabit it;_

_And its morals aren't worth what a pig can spit;_

The boy listened as his father screamed at a cowering house elf for spilled milk—quite literally—and ordered the ugly being to punish itself harshly...

Oh Merlin...

A crack sounded echoed through the room as the young elf appeared at the foot of his bed. The turned away from it and shut his eyes.

"Master has ordered—"

"I know what you were ordered to do." The boy hissed. His father hoped this would drive the boy out of his room and into the shameful crowed below them. The boy wouldn't give him that pleasure.

As the elf began to scream for reasons the boy didn't dare investigate, his pale fingers latched onto his blankets. He would not join them down there. Not until they dragged him...

The boy flinched as the elf hit an unpleasantly high note in his screams. Of course the elf screamed. Sirius' father would not let him off that easy.

_And it goes by the name of London;_

This was why Sirius Black hated going home for the summer.

_At the top of the hole sit the privileged few; _

_Making mock of the vermin in the lonely zoo; _

It was the seventh of July, and his parents, as always, glorified the day of the most powerful magical number with their annual _Toujours Pur_ Party. Everyone that was someone in the pureblood society was downstairs, either in Sirius' living room, or outside.

That was why Sirius had decided days ago that he wasn't attending. He'd put on the stupid robes because his mother had hovered over him and forced him to, but he was not going down there. He had no desire to be one of them, one of those ignorant bastards that called him, however begrudgingly, their kin. They had an entire day devoted to wearing white robes and reading from Dark Arts texts in the name of their hatred for all things muggle. When Sirius was younger, he'd loved this day, but after going to school and actually meeting some of the people they were hating down there... it all just felt **evil**.

_Turning beauty to filth and greed..._

Anyway, all pureblooded teenagers did at this thing was flirt. That was all they were expected to do. Not performing this simple task would lead to anything from an hour long lecture to a beating and an arranged marriage. Sirius wanted **no** part of it.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for his young family members. His brother was probably down stairs hunting for potential brides at this very moment. He was twelve! It was nauseating.

Of course, his cousins were worse. Bellatrix, now nineteen, had managed to stall her marriage by two years by taking up a few new hobbies in her seventh year; obsessing over the Dark Lord, and having violent sex with Rudolphus Lestrange. For now, she was safe from marriage simply because she was busy, and she was doing something to help keep the wizarding population going. She would marry Rudolphus in a few years, or when he knocked her up. Whichever came first. As long as the baby was pure, no one gave a damn.

Andromeda would probably be engaged in less than a week. She was nearly eighteen now. She didn't seem too happy about the idea, but she didn't exactly get a say...

Oh, and dearest little Narcissa. The now nineteen-year-old Lucius Malfoy had taken a rather unhealthy interest in the fourteen-year-old. Pervert. The adults of the Black family couldn't be happier about this fact, of course. It was probably one a matter of time before she followed in Bella's footsteps and spread her legs for him, and her parents would call it one of the proudest days of their lives.

Everything was always about hatred and babies.

No. He wouldn't do it. He wouldn't go down there and watch all of that unfold, and pretend like it was normal, and sane, and something to _celebrate_.

Anyway, there were no purebloods Sirius had any desire to marry. Not today, not in a year, not in ten years, not in million years...

But then a face flashed through his mind, and the air left his lungs as quickly as if the Dark Lord had just broken into his room and cast the killing curse.

_Bloody Hell,_ he thought, _there is __**one**__..._

_There's a hole in the world like a great black pit; _

_And it's filled with people who are filled with shit; _

The elf stopped screaming.

"Master Sirius needs to go downstairs now." It said quietly.

"No."

"Kreature has orders..." The young elf looked distraught. Good. That meant he did not have permission to use magic.

"I don't give a fuck." Sirius said, looking the elf in the eyes. "Go back downstairs."

Sirius smirked when he saw the look of deep confusion that crossed the elf's face. He was still very young, and hadn't yet learned what to do when two different masters gave him contradicting orders.

Sirius waved his off, "Go, Kreature. You don't want to have to punish yourself again, do you?" Sirius would of course never make the elf do so, but it didn't hurt anything to threaten it...

With a 'pop' the elf vanished. Sirius relaxed backwards and continued trying to pretend he was back at school with James. Perhaps they were pulling a prank on Snape, though James seemed to have slightly lost his taste for that since that day by the lake with Evans... No, perhaps they were accompanying Moony in the Shack...

Loud crashes that rattled his door on it's hinges pulled him from his fantasy.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" His mother screeched like a banshee.

_And the vermin of the world inhabit it;_

_And its morals aren't worth what a pig can spit;_


	2. Andromeda and her feelings

Ten minutes later, Sirius was literally chained to the snack bar. Invisible chains locked his wrists to the leg of the table, and his mother had taken his wand, so there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. His mother would pop by once every five minutes to ask which girls he was most interested in, and he would tell her he was thinking about the first girl he saw. She would remember every name he gave her, of course, but he would deal with that later. When she wasn't around, he shoved caviar in his mouth and made rude hand gestures at Narcissa while she was busy making googley-eyes at a man who should be in jail for child molestation.

After about thirty minutes, Andromeda walked over, leaned against the table, and casually popped a bit of caviar into her mouth.

"Are you as disgusted as I am?"

Sirius was quite for a moment, "Ann, it's not _that_ bad."

"Not that bad?!" She echoed, her voice a mixture of distress and outrage, "Sirius, I thought that you of all people would understand..."

She stopped when she saw the critical way he was suddenly looking at the caviar.

"I'm being serious!" She hissed.

"Well you can't be," He told her dully. "Being Sirius is my job. I don't want you taking it."

"I mean it, Sirius!"

"And so do I. You can be Andromeda."

"Sirius, how can you be joking when all around us our family and friends are disgracing—"

"Ann," Sirius cut her off, his voice still calm, "I don't know what my mother promised to give you if you said that, but I'm not going to play along, so you can just stop now. It's bad enough to even have my views and have to live _here_, I don't need you making fun of me on top of it."

"Sirius, I'm not making fun of you—"

"Her serpent earrings, perhaps? I know you've always been fond of them."

Rather than continue to argue, Ann pulled her wand out and wrapped them once on Sirius' wrists, taking a wild guess.

She was entirely correct, of course. The chains became visible for less than a second before dissolving into nothing.

Sirius gaped at her for a moment.

"Believe me now?" She asked, but she didn't give him time to answer, grabbing him and pulled him away immediately, "Come on! Let's get upstairs before someone notices."

They hid themselves in a bathroom near the master bedroom, figuring that Sirius' room was too obvious.

Ann latched the door and looked around the small room suspiciously, even pulling back the shower curtain to check that the tub was empty.

"Ann, what the blood hell is going on?" Sirius began bluntly as he sat down on the toilet seat.

Ann pulled herself tensely onto the cabinet surrounding the sink.

"Sirius..." She began, "I... Oh, Sirius, I don't know what to do! All those boys down there and mother trying to hook me up with every single one of them... Sirius, I'm sorry, I just **had** to tell someone—"

"So out with it."

She tugged on her short dark hair, twisting it nervously around her finger for a moment before finally pulling in a deep breath and saying it, "IthinkIfancyamudblood... Mother's going to kill me."

"..." Sirius wanted to say something, really he did... but what? 'No she won't,' 'It'll be fine,' and 'Your parents will love you anyway,' were all lies, and after a confession like that he was not going to betray her trust by lying to her, even if it was to make her feel better.

"Sirius, say something!" She ordered, her voice breaking.

There was only one thing he could say; "Welcome to the club."

She sighed. "He wanted me to marry him, Sirius, but I told him I needed to go home and work some things out with my family... and I don't know that I can ever see him again."

"Hm..." Sirius broke the long pause.

"What?"

Sirius shrugged, "Well, it's just that, I thought they sprayed you all down with Muggle-Be-Gone when you got sorted into Slytherin. That's what the seventh year Gryffs say, anyhow."

She glared, "I must have been in the bathroom."

"So they really do it?"

"No!" They both laughed just to ease the tension.

"Can I tell the first years that they do anyway?"

She sighed again, "Why not?"

There was another moment of silence, before she got this dreamy look in her eyes, "You know, just last year, when I was your age... I was all set up to marry some rich pureblood who'd join the Dark Lord, and we'd have three kids, and a nice big house in Oxford with vacation homes in Canberra for the winter holidays and Honolulu for the summer..."

Sirius waited for her to start talking again. She'd just become his only friend in the entire house, and it wasn't as though they had anything to discuss other than their love for things their their parents would scorn.

"But then," She said softly, "I met Ted... I thought he was so stupid the first time he asked me out. Not only was he a Hufflepuff, but he was a mudblood... I was so embarrassed that I had attracted attention from **that kind** of boy, and my friends would tease me... but he just wouldn't quit, no matter how many times I'd turn him down. He'd send flowers to my dorm room, and pass me love notes in class... So eventually, I agreed to go out with him **one** time..."

"And then you fell in love with him?" It wasn't the sort of story Sirius was normally into, but he could see that telling it made her feel a lot better.

She smiled sadly and shook her head, "No... No, looking back I think I was in love with him long before that. I started to really look forward to the notes and the flowers... I told myself I just enjoyed the attention, and that I shouldn't get too used to it, because most Slytherin guys aren't like that, and I **would** marry a Slytherin... but then I went out with Ted, and I'd had every intention of it really only being that one time... Then we kissed and... I just knew I couldn't... I couldn't do **this**." She gestured down at her white robes. "Sirius, Narcissa and I have never told your mother this, but it's no secret around the Slytherin common room that these last few years you've fucked **a lot** of mudbloods—"

"**Four**!" Sirius corrected quickly, "Three girls and one bloke. That's not a lot!"

"Did you love any of them?"

Sirius sighed and shook his head, "No, I'm more into the bloodtraitors, personally."

"Oh..." Then, another thought hit her, "And that is too a lot!"

"Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Oh... well then, whatever you do, don't ask how many half-bloods I've fucked..."

"Dear Merlin, you're barely seventeen..."

Sirius shrugged.

They listened to the conversation drift up from downstairs. Either their mothers hadn't noticed their absences yet, or they weren't worried quiet yet. It was probably the former, since it was nearly dinner time and the women of the family would be making sure everything was in order.

"So, who is she?" Ann asked.

"Who?"

"You said you were more into bloodtraitors..."

"Oh!" Sirius blushed, "Um... well... First and foremost I think they would object to the term 'she'..."

"Oh..." Ann blushed at this as well. After another moment of silence, she took the hint, "You don't want to talk about it, do you?"

Sirius shook his head, "Not until I'm sure."

The noise downstairs carried on, and soon they found themselves painfully aware of scent of ham that was drifting up to them...

"So, are we going to stay in here all night?" Ann asked at last.

Sirius shrugged, "Well, I'd thought I might, but if you want to go back down I suppose I'll go to." Of course, in his head there was a steady chant of _Please go down, please go down, please go down... _

"Well... What'll we do otherwise?"

"Stay in here?"

"And eat what?"

Sirius thought for a moment, "Do you reckon the soaps toxic?"

Ann moaned at this.

"Well..." He looked around a bit more, "We could pay ourselves five sickles when we get out to eat a tube of toothpaste?"

This earned him the 'You know, there's a whole area of Azkaban filled with padded rooms containing men in white coats that act just like you' look, "No, Sirius. No."

"Well..." Everything else in the room was either stuck to the floor or made of solid plastic, "It's only one night. We don't **need** to eat. You know, in some countries, just what we've already eaten for breakfast and lunch would feed a kid for a week—"

"That's it. We're going back down."

Sirius didn't object until they were half way to the stairs.

"Wait! Ann..."

"Yes?"

"What are we doing?"

"...Eating, I suppose..."

"No, no, I mean in general. We're both adults. Why are we still here?"

"You need money for school, and I need..."

Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"Sirius, don't be stupid. We can't just leave."

"If not today, then when?"

"Sirius..."

"Tomorrow, perhaps?"

"Why do I have to—"

"Or next week?"

"Sirius, I don't really want to..."

"Or did you really think your Hufflepuff was going to wait around while you were wearing another man's engagement ring?"

She froze.

"Don't pretend like it won't happen, Ann. That's all our parents have been talking about all night."

"Sirius..." She looked about ready to break, "Sirius, don't do this to me, okay? **I don't want to leave**... They may be... confused... but unlike you, I **love** our family. I can't really say I like it anymore, but I do love it..."

"But they wouldn't love you if they knew. Not enough, at least." He pushed on. "And I'm not doing anything to you. I'm telling the truth. It only hurts if it's the truth."

"Sirius, how can we do that?! How can just go down there, and tell our mothers that we're choose a couple of teenage boys over them?!"

"Ann, we don't have to. If you told them how you felt about Ted, **they'd** be the ones to telling **you** to get out... I promise."

"How can you say that so calmly?!"

Sirius shrugged, "I've had six long years to get used to the fact? Sorry to spring it all on you at once."

"If we told them and we knew how they'd react, then we made the choice, not them. We'd be the ones setting things into motion," She argued with conviction."Sirius," She said quietly, "I really, and I mean **really**, don't want to choose... It's so unfair! There are millions of girls in the country today who can have both their family **and** their man, and I just happen to be in the one percent that can't!"

Sirius could only shake his head, "I guess you've just got to ask yourself who you'd rather be; Andromeda Black, or Ann Tonks."

"I know who I'd rather be." She said quietly, "But Sirius, you can't deny—"

"It's the harder thing to do." He said, as the sound of their mothers screaming their names drifted up from below, "The right thing always is. Grow up, Ann. In life you have to make choices. Not all of them are going to be easy." He headed back toward the stairs and didn't look back when he told her, "Tell my mother I was asking you about one of the girls. I don't care which. **I**'m not sticking around much longer."


	3. I'll take mine with a side of disowning

"... May our grandchildren be as pure of blood as those of us here today are, may the traditions of the Dark Arts live on in our society and in our hearts, and may all of us, be we a Death Eater or a pacifist, remember to keep the Dark Lord and his interests in our minds." It was a brilliant way for his father to end the ten-minute long speech. Really.

Sirius sat still as everyone else raised their glasses, and hoped no one would notice.

"Sirius," His mother's sharp voice eliminated all of such hope in an instant, "Would you like to say something? You're growing up now, and you need to learn to speak at these events."

Regulus pouted at not being asked the same question. Sirius was sure the soon-to-be second year Slytherin had **a lot** to say...

Sirius, however, didn't. "No, mother. I think father pretty much said everything our guests wanted to hear."

"Then stand up and repeat him." His mother commanded.

"Mother, why waste everyone's time? I'm sure our guests would much prefer that we just let them eat."

"Sirius—"

"Excuse me," Ann cut her off, "Auntie Walburga..." The girl was bright red, "I'm not really sure if it's entirely proper but... well... I'm growing up too, I think." Her eyes met Sirius', and he knew in an instant what he planned on doing. For the first time that night, he really smiled. "And... I have something to say."

Sirius' mother looked surprised for a fraction of second before pulling on a mask of composure. Bellatrix and Narcissa, who sat on either side of Ann, were looking at her like she was crazy.

"Certainly, dear." Walburga Black said after a long moment, "Indeed. You're growing up. The floor is yours."

She stood and looked around at her family, her childhood friends, the only life she'd ever known...

And she giggled.

"Sorry..." She said, composing herself with a drink of Firewhiskey, "Nervous laughter... This is a little bit harder than I thought it would be five minutes ago."

"That's quite alright, dear." An older woman, Sirius believed she was a great aunt of Ann's, said. That aside, everyone remained silent. Regulus' eyes were on his food, as though trying to will it into his mouth with 'accidental' magic, but no one touched their silverware.

And finally, her eyes settled on Sirius. They didn't have the 'hurry up and talk so we can tell you that you did great and get on with our lives' look that everyone else's had. They were firm, encouraging, but all the while reminding her that this **would** be the harder thing to do...

"A lot of you..." She paused here for another drink of Firewhiskey, "A lot of you expected me choose a husband today, or sometime soon anyway..." Now everyone was really alert. "And..." She took another drink of the Firewhiskey, "And I have... Mother, father, Bella, Cissy, everyone...I..." And another drink. Sirius let her indulge. "I want to marry a mudbl... a muggleborn."

The silence echoed.

"Bloody Hell," Her father finally said. Now it started, "Andromeda, you're drunk. Sit down this instant."

Bellatrix jumped to her feet to help her sister do just that. The entire family was as red as Sirius' house.

"No, father—Bella let go! No, I'm not! I'm fine!"

Narcissa was on her feet in another moment as well.

"Stop it." Sirius said as loudly as he could without actually yelling. Narcissa, being the only one younger than him, went directly back into her chair, and looked to Lucius, who was on her left, for some form of guidance. Sirius didn't watch his reaction.

"Bellatrix," Sirius instructed, "Let her go." Sirius stood and looked around at their family and family friends, "She's not drunk. She told me the exact same thing in the bathroom earlier, and I know she wasn't drunk then."

Ann's mother was on her feet in a moment, "So this is your fault?!" She demanded of Sirius.

"No, no mother, it isn't!" Ann defended him quickly, "He had nothing to do with this! Honest! I really mean it! I love a muggleborn!"

"**Mudblood**, darling." Her father corrected, "And whatever Sirius did to make you say that—"

"He didn't do anything!" Ann finally wiggled out of Bellatrix's grasp and stepped back enough to pull out his wand.

Sirius reached over expertly and snatched his from his mother's pocket while everyone was busy being shocked with Ann. Sirius knew better than to try defending himself. She could marry that muggleborn tomorrow, and they'd all still think Sirius was behind this.

He moved quickly to Ann's side, "And mother, I'm in l... There's this **male** bloodtraitor..."

"Both of you, **sit down now,**" Ann's father ordered again, "And take that back."

Ann and Sirius shared a fearful look that they would never show anyone else at the table. They were both telling the other that if they were going to back down and blame the other one after all, now was the last chance to do it.

Both held their ground.

"And what if we don't want to?"

Sirius' father glanced at Ann's father for confirmation. He got it.

"Then get out." Orion Black finally spoke the ultimatum.

Sirius could feel the wave of emotions overcome Ann, and took her hand to calm her. She squeezed so hard he was truly surprised she didn't brake a bone.

The whole house was silent. Even Kreature had crawled out of his hole to watch the festivities.

Orion's chest was heaving, "Don't do this, kids. Sirius, this isn't funny, and Ann, I know you know better." He held out a hand to the pair, "Come now, kids. Just because we punish you doesn't mean we won't forgive you. **Just sit down**. I won't even make you say anything. You've had your laughs, **so just take your seats**."

Sirius looked at Ann. He wasn't going to drag her out of here without one final word from her on it.

"...No. We won't." Everyone could hear her voice shaking, but Sirius was calm. As he said earlier, he'd been hardening his heart for this moment since the second he heard the hat call out _"GRYFFINDOR!"_ all those years ago. This was perhaps the first time in his life that he was glad of knowing at so young an age what would become of his family life.

Both kids struggled, but managed, to keep their composure until they were out of the house.

"Sirius!" Ann gasped, turning on him, "That was so terrifying and horrible—"

"You knew it wasn't going to be easy—"

"But it felt so good! I've been wanting to say that for so long, and to finally do it..."

The excited look in her eyes stunned him for a moment. "Yeah... I guess doing the right thing is like that." He didn't see any reason to tell her quite yet about what it would be like when the righteous high crashed and she actually realized what she'd just done. "Where are we going?"

Ann shrugged. "I was going to go find my man. Do you want to go find yours or do you need a place to stay for a while? I'm sure if I asked Ted..."

"Nah. I'll go crash with... a friend... until the term starts."

She nodded.

"Hey, Ann?"

"Yeah?"

"This guy... If he ever breaks your heart after what you've just done for him, tell me. I'll rip his throat out with my canine teeth." He had no intention of letting her know just how easy that would actually be for him to do.

She just rolled her eyes.

"What?! Someone has to look after you."

"Goodnight, Sirius." With that she left Sirius alone on the street.


	4. Braking into James' house

James' house was in a well-lit residential neighborhood. It was a large three-story—on sight Sirius would have guessed six bedrooms and four bathrooms—with a small garden out front and a white fence to complete the picture. To Sirius it felt... almost strangely normal.

A light was on in a third-story room, and though Sirius couldn't see James, he could see the scarlet walls that were a sign of a Gryffindor teen's room, and the poster of the Harpies that the boy kept above his bed at school.

So, Sirius decided to get his best friend's attention in the most obnoxious way he possibly could. He transformed into his dog shape, and let out the most hideous howl he could manage.

He kept this up for nearly five minutes before James slammed the window shut without looking. Prat.

So Sirius resolved himself to trying the door. No answer. What the Hell? Sirius knew he was home.

_Well, only one thing left to try._ Sirius appearated up to the room with the light on.

And _that_ set off an alarm. A loud chirping one that echoed around the room. Sirius could barely hear his best friend yell when he saw him.

The door was flung open, and James' parents entered just as James pulled out his wand and silenced the alarm. The older couple had their wands drawn in a second to.

"Expel—"

"Stop, dad." James cut the man off. "It's just Sirius."

The couple froze.

"James..." Mrs. Potter said at long last, "You know this boy?"

"Yeah," James said with a small nod, "Sort of, anyway. He followed me home from school and I thought he was cute so I've been hiding him under my bed and feeding him table scraps. Can I keep him?"

The older couple looked confused until Sirius decided to play along and transform, which made them laugh.

"He's sleeping out in the yard though if he keeps howling like he was earlier." James said, glaring at him with sudden understanding.

"But, seriously," Sirius said, changing back to human form, "Can you keep me? I need a place to crash for the summer. I'll work off the stay—"

"You'll do no such thing!" James cut him off, looking shocked, "What kind of best mate would I be if you came to me needing help and all I could think about was what you'd give my family in return? We have three guest bedrooms. For Christ's sake, pick one."

James was glaring at him playfully, with his robes open to reveal his shirtless chest and tight bluejeans. Sirius wondered distantly why Evans hadn't been locked away in a padded room for denying him. Was the girl secretly a nun? Or a dyke? Sirius hated himself for it, but he hoped it was one or the other. Then James would _have_ to give up on her...

"You're sure?" Sirius said, "Because... um... I do need money too. I need clothes, and school things, and... well..." He gestured down his body, "What you see is what I've got."

"We'll go shopping in the morning." James promised, not even bothering to look to his parents for permission.

"Don't your parents provide these things for you?" Mr. Potter finally asked.

Sirius turned to them and smiled weakly, "Well, that's the thing... I don't really think I have parents anymore."

"You were orphaned?!" Mrs. Potter questioned, "Oh, you poor—"

"Ha. I wish." Sirius told her bitterly, "Not only would the world be a slightly better place for it, but I'd be rich. No, I got..." And then the words froze in his mouth. Looking at these two adults that he didn't know, realizing that he was only word away from baring his soul to them, he broke down. He found himself suddenly trembling, and slowly backed up until he was against the wall.

"Sirius," James said, practically running over to him to help steady him, "Are you alright? You're shaking."

"I... they... James... and then Ann..." Finally, he looked over to the woman, who was so much older than his own mother, yet seemed, unlike Sirius' mother, to have gotten softer with age rather than bitter, and he said the one complete thought he could form, "It wasn't my fault, okay?"

"Of course it wasn't." James grabbed Sirius' arm and led him over to the bed, and Sirius felt himself getting stronger with each step. It was amazing how something as small as human contact could make so much difference. James didn't even let go when they'd reached the bed, save with one hand to quickly wave his parents out of the room. They sat like that for five minutes while Sirius composed him. James held tight and never once broke eye contact, not showing the slightest bit of impatience or pity, but rather radiating the strength Sirius needed.

Finally, Sirius could speak again, "I'm sorry, James," He chocked out, "I shouldn't have done that to you. I just... It's a big deal, alright? A bigger one than I thought it would be."

"Sirius," James said softly, "What happened?"

Sirius was quiet for a long moment. What did happen? He'd been so impatient for the day to end earlier, but now that darkness had fallen and he was sitting on another boy's bed, it all felt like it had passed in a nanosecond. Only one thing was clear, "James, I really need to get out of this robe."

James didn't ask questions. He stood and walked directly to his closet, pulled the doors open, and selected a plain black robe.

"Actually," Sirius cut him off as a sudden urge came over him, "Can I wear some of your muggle clothes?" James had taken to wearing muggle clothing under his robes lately, like he was tonight. Sirius supposed this was a ploy to make Evans feel more comfortable around him, but tonight it would serve Sirius' needs as well.

"I thought you hated them." James said, though he was already going through his things for something.

"They're ugly," Sirius confessed, swallowing the urge to remind James that they didn't look ugly on him, because _nothing_ looked ugly on him, "But tonight I really need a change."

James quickly pulled out a pair of loose black... did muggles call them sweatpants?...and an black shirt. "Will these work? They'll be nice to sleep in, too."

"That'll be great." Sirius said with a nod. Not the least bit shy after sharing a dorm with the boy for six years, he pealed off his clothes and changed right there. Then, another urge struck him, "James?"

"Yes?"

"Do you have a fireplace?"

"Down in the living room, yes. Why?"

"...I want to burn those robes."

For a fraction of a second, James looked like he was about to question him, but then he saw the look of need in Sirius' eyes, and instead replied, "I think we'd better go outside for that."


	5. How James takes care of his friends

Not five minutes later they were in the back yard watching the smoke drift to sky, and the white material burn.

"Why didn't you answer the door?" Sirius asked, breaking the silence.

"Hm? Oh. We get so many solicitors in this neighborhood we never answer it unless we're expecting someone." He blushed, "Sorry. Most of our friends know that." Even though they'd been best friends for years, family differences had kept them from ever going over to each other's house before. The winter of their fifth year, they had all gone over to Remus' (and Sirius had to lie to his parents about that) but that was the only time Sirius had met with one of his friends outside of school.

The fire crackled and cast odd patterns of light across their faces, adding heat to the night air and causing James to remove his robes and Sirius to remove his shirt, allowing both the see the sweat that gathered on the other's skin.

"So," James said, "Are you finally ready to tell me why you're here."

"Long story short? My parents were throwing this party to celebrate how much better they thought they were than everyone else, and my cousin Ann told me that she was in love with this muggleborn, and we were both just pissed off at the whole thing, so she stood up at dinner and told them about her muggleborn boyfriend, and I told them..." He stopped. No way was he actually going to tell James... "Well, I don't really remember what I said. You know me... Anyway, they got pissed off and told us that we had to either sit down and take back what we'd said, or leave."

"And you left?"

Sirius nodded, "And in my family, you don't come back after you've chosen to leave."

James nodded. He was so beautiful with the light glinting off his hazel eyes, the flames reflecting slightly in his glasses, and the sweat gathering on his skin, making it shine as though it were oiled. "Well, you're better off without them. I'll take care of you."

It only made matters worse that James had told Sirius he was bisexual during their third year. Of course, James had since converted to being almost entirely Evans-Sexual, but knowing that there was some small lingering chance was just... Sirius hated it. If James were straight, then he could just shove it all down and ignore it...

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you still..." Sirius cleared his throat, "Are you still into other blokes? I know some people just go through phases, and for a long time now all I've heard from you is how crazy you are about Evans..."

"I'll have her this year." James said with a confident smirk, "If I don't have her when we graduate, I'll give up. I promise... But yeah, I guess on the side guys are still nice."

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—

"Is there a problem?"

"What?" _Yes. Now I'm praying to every God I've ever heard of that Lily Evans hates you until the day she dies. I'm a bastard. Is that a problem? _

"You were glaring." James shrugged, "I thought you were... you know, with all the blokes you've had in your bed lately... Did you...er... 'go through a phase'?"

"Me? Hell no. I just... For a moment I'd hoped..."

"What?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Something I shouldn't have been hoping for."

"And what's that?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!" James grabbed Sirius' chin and forced him to hold eye contract as he tried to turn his head away, "Sirius, you've been acting so strangely since you got here. Whatever it is, you can tell me. I can understand you freezing up in front of my parents, but you should know that you can trust me... Come on, Padfoot. We're Marauders. We tell each other everything."

Sirius smiled sadly, "Prongs... Don't hate me, alright? My family already hates me. If you do too then I don't think I'll be able to live with myself."

"I could never hate you."

"Good. Because I love you."

And James' hand fell from his chin. He leaned back, shocked, and watched the flames for a moment. Sirius felt certain he was going to tell him to get out, and that that was just too creepy and they couldn't see each other anymore... He shouldn't have said anything. He'd just needed to know so badly...

"Well, I have to admit, we'd look _amazing_ in bed together."

Sirius laughed, "That we would. I have good tastes."

"Dude, you have _excellent_ tastes." James grinned, "Seriously, we ought to invite Moony over and make him take pictures."

Sirius pointed up at the full moon and lied back in the grass. They were joking. That's was good. Sirius had always been a firm believer that if you could laugh about something, you could get over it.

"Well damn." James said, following his finger. "Wormtail?"

"Straight. He wouldn't be into it."

"So's Moony."

"Kinda. Moony's part animal. Sex is sex. He might not join in, but he'd be into it."

"Well, it's their loss, I guess." James messed up his hair casually, "But seriously, if you like—"

"It wouldn't mean anything."

"Of course it would." James spoke as firmly as he had when Sirius had offered to work off his stay, "You're my best mate. I may not ever be in love with you," He paused here, leaned down, and kissed Sirius on the lips, "But I'll take care of you."

"Prongs, don't go there."

James stopped his protests with another kiss, this time prodding Sirius' lips with his tongue. What was the boy to do but open his mouth for him, and melt as he enjoyed the feeling of his best mate exploring inside of him?

"Sirius," James gasped as he pulled away, "I give my friends what they need. If you need this, it's yours." He smirked, "It's not like I'm seeing Evans _right now_, so... Well, I might as well enjoy being a bisexual teenager at least once before I go off to school this year, woo her, and never touch another bloke again."

Of course, by this point James was hovering over him, reeking of sex and sporting an arousal that was evident in the tight muggle pants, and Sirius needed no more persuading. It was better to have James once and then get on with his life than never to do this and always have to wonder about what it would be like if he had.

James lowered himself onto Sirius again, aligning their arousals and straitening the other boy's legs. He went right for Sirius' neck, being careful not to let his glasses get in the way as his tongue ran unreadable patters along the recently disowned Black's jaw-line.

Sirius forced his hand between their bodies, and began pulling at James' pants. It took him a moment to get the right angle for that damn muggle button to come loose, but it did, and from there it was easy to get the zipper down. James rocked backwards and disposed of his pants quickly, extinguishing the fire, which hadn't burned the grass in the least bit, in the same instant, lest someone walk by and see them.

Sirius' pants were much faster to do away with, as it was a simple matter of tugging a knot loose and pulling down. The boys were naked that quickly.

"Do you want to...?" James offered. It made no difference to him. Having never done this before, he had no idea what he would prefer.

"You go ahead," Sirius said, spreading his legs.

James didn't argue. He got down and crawled, pausing only for a second to lubricate his friend with a spell, until he was over the younger boy once again. He pushed in quickly, which was fine with Sirius, since he was far from a virgin on either end. And almost painful wave of hot pleasure shot up Sirius' back, and he knew the other boy had hit him right on the prostate.

James' original plan had been to keep a steady pace, but since he had never done this before, he found himself experiment with speed a bit. It didn't take long for him to decide he certainly preferred it fast. With the near constant shocks of his prostate being hit, Sirius was not about to argue.

Sirius came first, having always preferred prostate stimulation but rarely getting the chance to receive it. The ripples this sent through his body and the way his muscles tightened around James sent the chaser over the edge soon afterward.

And as they cuddled up there in the dark, James' thoughts already doubtlessly turning to red hair and green eyes, Sirius understood something he'd somehow missed the last six years of his life; love, devotion, protection, trust... his friends were his family, and small as it was, it was the only one he'd ever need. It was certainly better than his last one.


End file.
